Spring Time

So wishful thinking is why I wrote Spring Time in the title. I am so very hoping for a great and early spring despite the fact that the little ground hog did indeed see his shadow. We have had an awesome winter here and from what we have had, I don't think I would have lasted one of Wyoming's harsh winters.
We are winding down to the last quarter of school for Andy and I think there are parts of his job he will miss, but I don't think one of them will be the kids. :) They are really lazy and entitled just like all the others out there, if not more so. We have heard back from everyone and will be going to University of Idaho next Fall. I will be moving with Ada at the end of May and Andy will finish out the last week of school here and then follow. We are so excited that he got an Assistantship which would include a lot of the same stuff he did as a TA in his undergrad. Lots of grading papers and teaching undergrad stats courses. I am so proud of him. We did hear from one University that there were an unusual amount of really good applicants and it was hard to make the final decisions. So I am Really proud of him.
Other than that, things have been really mellow around here. Ada is standing by herself and trying to walk but does more falling than walking. She gets right back up like a champ, though. The town here LOVES her-mainly because she is one of 5 babies in the town. Seriously. But she had developed the friendliest personality and is a blast to be around. She can put her hands above her head and make a high pitched noise while I copy her and say yippie in a high pitched voice. Way fun. She also loves to take things from her mouth (ie binky after naps, blankets, string and toys) and put them in my mouth. She thinks its hilarious. She had also developed a knack for dancing to music. Any time music is on she'll stop and bounce and wave her arms. Oh and she also loves to play peek-a-boo. She will grab a blanket and pull it above her head and then take it off real quick and giggle. Too much fun.
Here are some pic of Ada and us as of late. Hope all is well and your're feeling good.
Trudy

Pictures!!

I have tons of cute cute pictures to put on here so I won't write much. We had a great time in Oregon and are so glad to be able to see family. AdaMarie did great on her first plane ride (fell asleep for most of it) and seemed to like all the attention she got from her Grandma, Aunts, Uncles and many cousins. Andy is getting ready to apply for graduate school so we are planning another move in a few months as long as he gets accepted. Ada is getting so so so big and loves to climb on everything and try her hand at walking. She is such a good girl and I am so blessed to have them as my family. I turn 27 tomorrow and I think I can honestly look back on this past year and say I did my best and was truly blessed.

Ada helping daddy out with the dishes

Ready for church

Listening to dad read the Nativity

Opening her first gift. She was wanting to get into them when I said no but as soon as I gave it to her she didn't quite know what to do with it. 

Once she got the hang of it she wanted to help me out.

Taking a bath at Grandma Newey's

Our Christmas Eve ham we baked-it was soooo good!

All the cousins-minus two

Andy's sister Alison and her cat became AdaMarie's favorite

Opening her stocking Christmas morning

Uncle Jacob and cousin Adam

Christmas dinner at the Bremmer's

Ada wearing an outfit made for a large kitty cat.

Betsy and Ada reading

Big girl now

A sunset-they are beautiful against the mountains here

Her new favorite spot

Christmas Time

Now that Thanksgiving is over I can think about the Christmas season without feeling guilty. I have to say that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday but I love the whole Fall and Winter seasons. Some family traditions that Andy and I have started the past two years will be repeated this Christmas. The first weekend of December we go out and chop down our tree. I get to search and pick it out and Andy gets to chop it down. This year living so close to mountains and forests, we didn't have to go far to find the perfect tree...although it never looks as good inside our house and it does on the mountain side. Andy says I always pick out trees like Charlie Brown and find the most pitiful to bring home. Despite his taunts, I love our tree every year and swear its better than the year before. This year we found one with a little surprise in it (see below). We pop popcorn and sting them, along with cranberries, onto our tree. Along with my Mom's homemade snowflakes and some poinsettias, it looks amazing, My Mom made us a tree skirt this year and now it looks complete. I LOVE THIS TRADITION! AdaMarie doesn't seem to think the tree or the presents are all that great and leaves it alone, which it wonderful. Along with the old Nativity set and some homemade stalkings, we are set to bring on the holidays! We will be flying to Portland to celebrate this year and we are so excited! Hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

Fall Fun

I am not very good at blogging these days because my life is pretty boring. Don't get me wrong-boring isn't so bad. Exciting can mean all kinds of things and not always good things. Andy is really getting into the school here and really enjoys having his Fridays and Holidays off. We just got back from a last minute trip to Weiser for Thanksgiving and it was sooooo much fun! We missed Macy and Jason but everyone else was there and it was so good to see them. I cooked the turkey which turned out amazing. I also made our place cards and they were just as fun to make as they were to eat. I will post a picture on here so you can see them. I learned it from a sharing time in primary last week. We played a Thanksgiving Day game which my team won and then we sang the Pilgrims and the Indians song. Then we all commenced the Black Friday shopping ad search and talked till late. Early the next morning (3:45am) my mom and I were up and on the road to shop shop shop. We had so much fun and this year didn't seem as bad as the last. We didn't really hit any HUGE crowds and as always got just what we were looking for. My mom took me to breakfast and then home again home again. Ada and Andy missed me all that day and it was so nice to get a break from being "mom". I really look forward to it every year and I am so glad we went. Its just not Thanksgiving if I'm not home.
Andy goes to Denver tomorrow to observe some classes so it will just be a girls night in tonight. After that, we only have 3 weeks till Christmas vacation and a trip to Portland. I am excited to escape some of the cold winter weather here and enjoy the mild temperature of St. Helens.
AdaMarie is getting so big. She can kinda crawl, spin and sit and its very effective getting her where she wants to go. She LOVES to chew on wires and be under tables and chairs. She is also getting very good at the downward dog pose in Yoga. OH and I don't know if I put any Halloween pics on here so there are a few of those as well. We were pumpkin farmers and Ada was our pumpkin.

That's all for now.

Saratoga

We have been in Saratoga, Wy for over a month now and after several mental break downs I have come to accept my current location. It is very different from where I just came from but that is just as good of a thing as it is bad. I am a lot more independent and organized. I don't spend as much money and I have tons more time to spend with my cute family. All good things. Andy is really enjoying his high school math job and We got to all the sports events and play volleyball on Thursday evenings at the community center. Too much fun. We have callings in church now-Andy is the Young Men's president (I guess the first one they have had in years and years) and I am a sunbeams teacher. I love little kids and primary is way easy so I think I lucked out. We stay very busy and I am little miss home maker. I am making my Christmas presents and crocheter a little scarf for Ada  so she won't freeze! We like our house and the people here are fantastic. Now if I could just lose a little baby weight that would be great!!! There are days upon days where I don't leave the house for a few reasons-its freezing, no car, no where to go anyway so Thursdays and Sundays are great days!!! All in all things are good. Here are some photos and a video for you to enjoy!

Our View from Deck

Scenes from a Sunday drive just south of where we live